old tegu

[yulyani]

dear friends,

I need your advice regarding my tegu Gogon. He is a male,....now about 8-9 years. His body weight has been reduced from 6.6 kg into 4.7 kg now. He is still active and eat quite well, only he can not eat as much as when he was younger. He lost many muscles on body so now he is beginning to be thin...

My other lizards also getting old,...I have a 13 yo tiliqua and 11 yo dumeril monitor but they don't seemed to aging faster like Gogon....

Sometimes he regurgitates the small piece of meals one day after he ate it. He lives outdoor and indoor at night so I think he doesn't lack of the UV (I live at indonesia).

I need to know about tegu life span,...and also if you have an older tegu like gogon so I can make the comparison,...about the weight and health condition..

many2 thanks,
regards, yuli

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Sorry to hear Gogons still not doing well. 9yrs is not that old for a tegu they can live around 15 yrs. They‘re not adults until around 4 or 5yrs of age. Has he been to a vet? There may be something else going on.

 

[chelvis]

This sounds a lot like liver issues. Get a full blood panel done and see what the liver values come back as. Also try keeping him inside with high temps for a few days, it seems to help with a lot of different sickness.

I am sorry he is not doing well. Bosco is turning 7 this year and seems to be holding weight fine. I have heard of them living well into their teens.

 

[yulyani]

This sounds a lot like liver issues. Get a full blood panel done and see what the liver values come back as. Also try keeping him inside with high temps for a few days, it seems to help with a lot of different sickness.

I am sorry he is not doing well. Bosco is turning 7 this year and seems to be holding weight fine. I have heard of them living well into their teens.

thank you
yes I am thinking the same also. I will arrange the examination with blood check and let you know the result....

Is it ok to make him stay at his outdoor cage because he has sunlight and he loves to bask under it?
I always bring him inside every evening
thank you

 

[laurarfl]

Or I was thinking kidney issues which is common in older animals. I have a 10yo tegu and she is doing well. The life span is 16-20yo I believe.

---

I think being outside will be OK as long as it is warm enough. I would make sure he has enough fluid intake and isn't getting dehydrated. That will make him go downhill quickly. Also, is it possible he had a partial intestinal obstruction that turned into a complete obstruction? Keep us updated after the vet visit!

 

[chelvis]

Kidney issue would also cause these issues. Treatment for either involves a low protein diet which is always hard with carnivores. Chicken and fish are both good places to start cutting out other meats, adding more fruit will help. Of the two fish is better, the proteins are easier to brake down and the omegas help with inflimation of the kidneys and liver. I have seen two of my older wolves go, one from kidney issues the other with liver issues, but they did live a few good years after we found out just by a simple diet change.

 

[Roadkill]

I personally think diet is the key reason to why we see such a short lifespan often reported in captive tegus. Between the fact the so few people dedicate an effort into getting them significant vegetative matter in their diet, the often given advice of "letting them eat until they're full every day", and that most captive set-ups don't provide much opportunity for exercise, the average captive tegu is without doubt morbidly obese.

 

[chelvis]

Roadkill, that is true of many tegu and monitors but this tegu and owner I know have had a varied diet and a lot of outdoor excersise time.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure they are full when little but I keep adult tegus hungry, makes them more willing to eat other things that way.

 

[laurarfl]

I see that as well. I used to let mine eat until full, but stopped that practice a couple of years back. I have some I can let eat until they turn away and some that have to be rationed.

 

[yulyani]

thank you everyone! I appreciate your input very much..... It's VERY important for me to keep Gogon and all my pets healthy and long lived,...and I will do my best. I am waiting for the blood check arrangement for him,...since at Indonesia we don't routinely do the complete blood check on reptiles....I just want to make sure the equipment can run the test properly....I begin to give him eat the a/d food, which is made from the high quality easy digest protein from Hills. Also I made the scrambled eggs mixed with the fruits and veggies to enhance the appetite and easy digest,...I try my best to maintain him before we know exactly what's wrong with him
thanks again
yuli

---

Kidney issue would also cause these issues. Treatment for either involves a low protein diet which is always hard with carnivores. Chicken and fish are both good places to start cutting out other meats, adding more fruit will help. Of the two fish is better, the proteins are easier to brake down and the omegas help with inflimation of the kidneys and liver. I have seen two of my older wolves go, one from kidney issues the other with liver issues, but they did live a few good years after we found out just by a simple diet change.

thank you very much. Chelvis I read at a textbook,...sometimes dead fish they containts the thiaminase,...which can lead to vitamin B1 deficiency,....which cause the symptom of muscle tremor in reptiles. After I read this article, I stop giving the fish again to my lizard. From your opinion,...is it ok to give the fish fillet to them (like marlin, salmon etc)
thank you

 

[Roadkill]

You're quite right, most fish contain significant levels of thiaminase that gets released upon death. While freezing will slow down the thiaminase activity, it doesn't stop it, and this is where people can run into thiamin deficiency: frozen foods are often kept around for a long time, therefore having a longer time for the thiaminase to break down the thiamin. Hence it's best to offer fresh fish, as well as good variety so that you're likely to give your tegu all the nutrients it needs from different sources.

 

[chelvis]

Like Roadkill said, fresh fish is better and fresh water fish is perfered over salt water due to toxin build up and the added salt would not help the kidneys.

 

[yulyani]

gogon ate 5 rodents yesterday and I hope he won't regurgitate it again. It wonders me how come his body weight continue to decrease but he still has the appetite.....

 

[laurarfl]

If organs aren't functioning properly, he has the appetite to gain nutrition, but his body can't break the food down, absorb it, and get it to the cells as needed. Something is just not working well along the chain of command.

Have you tried feeding smaller meals more frequently and dropping his protein a bit in favor of increased plant mater?

 

[Dubya]

What about a little papaya mixed into food to aid digestion. Just an idea. I know papaya enzymes break down meat.

 

[laurarfl]

And they have a good proportion of calcium.

 

[yulyani]

thank you. Yes I mixed the home cooked food I usually offer him the scrambled eggs mixed with papaya, banana, and veggies...Sometimes I give also the a/d canned food...But I think also he needs also the whole prey as the best source of nutrition....Correct I wonder why he hasn't gained weight despite the big appetite. I will post his photo soon

---

And they have a good proportion of calcium.

Laura, do you have idea of recipes I can try to give to gogon?
Right now, usually this is the mixed food I offer him:
scrambled eggs (2 eggs)
lettuce, papaya in small pieces, little banana
small amount of a/d food
grated 1 carrot
little brocolli shreded
I scramble they all together without oil, i just use my dog's chicken gravy to scramble...or can we add olive oil in that?

the other mixed food I made for him:
chicken neck
chicken breast cut in moderate size
red meat
little beef liver
in this mixed I only add papaya, not the veggies because it's difficult to swallow by him
I agree with you he needs more plantation/veggies
can I give him the Salmon omega 3 to replace dead fish?
thank you Laura

---

thank you. Yes I mixed the home cooked food I usually offer him the scrambled eggs mixed with papaya, banana, and veggies...Sometimes I give also the a/d canned food...But I think also he needs also the whole prey as the best source of nutrition....Correct I wonder why he hasn't gained weight despite the big appetite. I will post his photo soon

---

And they have a good proportion of calcium.

Laura, do you have idea of recipes I can try to give to gogon?
Right now, usually this is the mixed food I offer him:
scrambled eggs (2 eggs)
lettuce, papaya in small pieces, little banana
small amount of a/d food
grated 1 carrot
little brocolli shreded
I scramble they all together without oil, i just use my dog's chicken gravy to scramble...or can we add olive oil in that?

the other mixed food I made for him:
chicken neck
chicken breast cut in moderate size
red meat
little beef liver
in this mixed I only add papaya, not the veggies because it's difficult to swallow by him
I agree with you he needs more plantation/veggies
can I give him the Salmon omega 3 to replace dead fish?
thank you Laura

I give gogon meal 2 times perweek. Between that, oftenly gets very hungry and I give him the garden snail when he was walked to exercise,...and also I give some portion of papaya in between

---

thank you. Yes I mixed the home cooked food I usually offer him the scrambled eggs mixed with papaya, banana, and veggies...Sometimes I give also the a/d canned food...But I think also he needs also the whole prey as the best source of nutrition....Correct I wonder why he hasn't gained weight despite the big appetite. I will post his photo soon

---

And they have a good proportion of calcium.

Laura, do you have idea of recipes I can try to give to gogon?
Right now, usually this is the mixed food I offer him:
scrambled eggs (2 eggs)
lettuce, papaya in small pieces, little banana
small amount of a/d food
grated 1 carrot
little brocolli shreded
I scramble they all together without oil, i just use my dog's chicken gravy to scramble...or can we add olive oil in that?

the other mixed food I made for him:
chicken neck
chicken breast cut in moderate size
red meat
little beef liver
in this mixed I only add papaya, not the veggies because it's difficult to swallow by him
I agree with you he needs more plantation/veggies
can I give him the Salmon omega 3 to replace dead fish?
thank you Laura

---

thank you. Yes I mixed the home cooked food I usually offer him the scrambled eggs mixed with papaya, banana, and veggies...Sometimes I give also the a/d canned food...But I think also he needs also the whole prey as the best source of nutrition....Correct I wonder why he hasn't gained weight despite the big appetite. I will post his photo soon

---

And they have a good proportion of calcium.

Laura, do you have idea of recipes I can try to give to gogon?
Right now, usually this is the mixed food I offer him:
scrambled eggs (2 eggs)
lettuce, papaya in small pieces, little banana
small amount of a/d food
grated 1 carrot
little brocolli shreded
I scramble they all together without oil, i just use my dog's chicken gravy to scramble...or can we add olive oil in that?

the other mixed food I made for him:
chicken neck
chicken breast cut in moderate size
red meat
little beef liver
in this mixed I only add papaya, not the veggies because it's difficult to swallow by him
I agree with you he needs more plantation/veggies
can I give him the Salmon omega 3 to replace dead fish?
thank you Laura

I give gogon meal 2 times perweek. Between that, oftenly gets very hungry and I give him the garden snail when he was walked to exercise,...and also I give some portion of papaya in between